About Me

"Love and do what you will." ~St. Augustine
That is how I try--failing miserable at times--to live my life.
I am married to a wonderful man and have an amazing little boy! Each moment is a gift from God, and I am trying to be a better daughter to God, wife to Luke, and Mom to Augustine each day.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

first
The first words out of my son't mouth today: "Mom, Superbowl today! The Patriots play against the Sea Hawks!" Indeed, it's Superbowl Sunday! We have a vested interest in the game, as the Patriots are Luke's favorite team...and the rest of the family's 2nd favorite team :). The Pats won--yay!

second
Luke's soccer schedule was released today...and the Switchbacks home opener is on April 4th, which happens to be Luke and Estella's birthdays and Holy Saturday! We are making an event out of it, hoping to get all of our Colorado family to the game, as well as Luke's parents and a couple of his siblings. A highlight of my day was having Caitlin come over to watch The Bachelor with me tonight--judge us hard ;). It's always fun to spend a little time together when we aren't simultaneously wrangling six little people.

third
Speaking of time with sisters, this morning we had a fun play date at Sarah's house. The kids love playing at Aunt Sarah's! She has all.the.toys!

fourth
It snowed a lot today! I am not a cold or a snow person, but there is not a bone in my body willing to complain because we have had such a mild winter. I am pretty sure it has been colder in Richmond this winter than it has been in our town. In other news, Gemma has been waking up in the middle of the night the past couple nights. She turns on her light, and like, plays--for like a long time?! It needs to stop. :)

But, seriously, look at that smile! [and that look of fear! lol.]

fifth
This evening we went to visit some public schools that we are considering for Augustine next year. Ah, the decisions. I am sure this will be an ongoing discussion, but for now, we have no idea what we are going to do. After we put the kids to bed, we went on a double date with Caitlin and Cole. It felt like a parting date because we are moving to CO Springs so soon, but in reality, I am guessing we will make it back to visit often.

Mexican food and margaritas--yum!

sixth
Tonight was the kids' Book Fair at their preschool. We took them out to Chick-fila first, and then they enjoyed the games, balloons, face painting, and of course, book-buying at the fair. We are going to miss their wonderful school this spring, but Gemma is already enrolled for next fall.

They love to play house--Gemma is always the Mom :)

seventh
Most of today was spent packing. My anxiety levels are raising by the minute, but Luke is as cool as a cucumber. Even when we have moved across the country [many times], he goes to his closet about an hour before we leave, gathers all his clothes together in one swift grab, and takes them out to the car. Packing done. My packing looks a little different...and takes a lot longer! Tonight Gemma slept in her big bed instead of her crib--this transition needs to happen now, as not only won't she have her crib at the new house, but she will be sleeping in the top bunk! I think she'll do great :)

eighth
We had breakfast with my Dad this morning and then went to his house to pick up some beds he is giving us for the new house. This afternoon, Gemma and Luke had a special date at the Butterfly Kisses dance. It was cuteness overload! They went as a group with Uncle Chris/Teags and Uncle Cole/Felicty. They had a wonderful time...until the very end of the dance when Gemma unexpectedly threw up...

I am just going off phone pics here, so I don't have one of the whole group. :(

ninth
This morning Augustine was set to go to school, followed by soccer class [during which time I was going to have a brief exit meeting with his teacher], followed by his best school friend, Tyler, coming over to play...but instead we stayed home all day with three sick kiddos. Gemma was running a fever; Stella was developing a cold; and Augustine woke up in the middle of the night with croup. Boo! We did make it to the doctor for a quick visit, but he just gave us a three day steriod for Augustine's croup and sent us on our way.

tenth
Luke and I took Estella to Colorado Springs this morning to close on our new house. Luke drove a moving truck and I drove Luke's car. Aunt Cait and Aunt Sarah graciously watched Augustine and Gemma, who seemed to get sicker by the minute all day. I had originally planned on staying the night in the Springs, but I knew I needed to get home to be with Augustine and Gemma. *in hindsight, today was the beginning of one of the most stressful months of my life!*

eleventh
Today was plain hard. The kids and I planned to meet up with Luke in Colorado Springs on Friday so that they could finish up this week at school [A and G today-Wednesday- and A on Friday]...but they were too sick to go to school today. By early afternoon, I figured the likelihood of Augustine being well enough for school Friday was slim, so I decided we were driving to the Springs tonight! [With three sick kiddos, single parenting was getting quite challenging, and I wasn't up for another night of it without Luke]. For the next several hours, I was going a million miles a minute packing, cleaning, comforting sick babies, repeat. It was very physically exhausting. During the brief times that Estella let me put her down, Gemma wanted to be held, so I strapped her into the Ergo and continued packing. I wasn't sure when we would be back--days? weeks? I wanted to make sure we had what we needed to get by, and I also wanted the house to be in good condition--no dirty dishes, etc. We finally made it out of the house at 7:15pm. I was so happy to arrive at our new house two hours later.

twelfth
Well, that was rough. I hesitate to describe what I did last night as "sleep." Three sick kids, Augustine and Gemma sharing a room for the first time, Gemma sleeping in a bunk bed instead of her crib, everyone in a new house...and Luke and my bedroom on the main floor! We must have gone up the stairs 20 times throughout the night. We may, in the very near future, be moving a bed up to the loft so we can be closer to the kids! I took the kids back to the doctor--a new doctor whom we had never met before but who turned out to be wonderful! We walked in with fevers, coughs, and runny noses and left with 4 ear infections, antibiotics, cough syrup, and a hefty bill :). I am not a huge fan of medicine, but I think I would have agreed to individual IV drips for each of my kids at this point, and I was more than happy to serve up the gooey, pink stuff several times a day.

thirteenth
It was another hard day with recovering kiddos. I usually like to do all my unpacking in a day or two and to get settled right away...and that just wasn't happening with a permanent [cute], 16 pound fixture in my arms all.day [and much of the night!]. Sick kids are no joke. I don't recall my kids ever all being sick at the same time, and certainly not this sick. Today we did move a mattress up to the loft for Luke and I to sleep on! It's only temporary, but very much necessary for the time being!!

fourteenth
This afternoon my Aunt Sarah arrived for a visit. The big kids were feeling better, but their coughs were still awful. Augustine and Gemma warmed up to their Great Aunt Sarah very quickly, and she made their day by telling them many, many stories--some even had felt story boards! Luke and I [with our little sidekick, Estella] even sneaked away to have dinner with Luke's team--Happy Valentine's Day to us! [Obviously, there was a man in charge of the schedule...]

fifteenth
We went to Mass this morning and ran into my cousin and his family. We are slowly, but surely, getting the house set up. We already had all our beds/mattresses, but most of our other furnishings have come off of craigslist. Today Luke bought a desk; it is massive and has about 47 pieces. You win some, you lose some...

sixteenth
My Aunt Sarah left early this morning. I had a hard day. I cried. Estella is still sick, and she is still wanting to be held all day.

Estella's happy place--the bathtub.

seventeenth
I didn't record anything for today. I probably spent the day dreading tomorrow. *Oh wait, I just remembered Luke took me out to dinner this night. He got one of his teammates' wives to babysit. It was fun.*

eighteenth
After sleeping through Luke's alarm, we didn't wake up until 6:45am, when Gemma stumbled into our room [we are back sleeping in our room on the main floor again...and it is going much better]. Normally, sleeping until 6:45am is a good thing but not when you were supposed to be in the car by 6:30am!! The kids and I drove back to Fort Collins so Augustine and Gemma could go to another week of school and say goodbye to their classmates/teachers. We showed up 10 minutes late--I looked like I needed a shower and a large pot of coffee.

nineteenth
Making the most of our time back in Fort Collins, this morning I went to a Moms Transmit the Faith gathering, hosted by a mom in my mom's group at church. Caitlin and Cole had us over for dinner--good food and good company and good playmates for the kids! :)

twentieth
I had a meeting with Augustine's teacher when I picked him up from school today. She said he is doing awesome with reading, letter sounds, etc. but that he could use some more practice with his fine motor. I agree. When I taught him to read, we skipped the handwriting aspect, so it makes sense that that is where he needs some work. She also mentioned that he is still quite quiet at school, although much less so than he used to be. Large group settings have always brought out his quiet side, so we aren't super worried, but it is something on our radar. He passed his speech evaluation this year, which is good. They say that women talk considerably more than men, and Gemma is proving "them" right. She is our little outgoing chatterbox. The highlight of today was Luke driving up from Colorado Springs to spend the weekend with us! We also decided today that we should rent our house out while we are away in the Springs. Ah, the stress!

twenty-first
Clean. Pack. Clean. Pack. Clean. Pack. One of the things I was looking forward to when I thought we weren't renting out house out is that I could leave clothes in drawers, food in the freezer, random junk in the junk drawer, etc. Although we rent out house out fully furnished and don't have to move any furniture, it is still a lot of work getting it ready for someone else to live in!

Luke went to rock the baby to sleep. An hour later, this is what I found. I think this picture pretty much sums up this month.

twenty-second
My Dad came over for breakfast. We did more cleaning and packing. We had dinner at Cait and Cole's house with my Dad and my cousin, Amanda, was in town, visiting CSU.

twenty-third
Luke left early this morning to go back to CO Springs. :( Estella is still sick--aye, aye, aye. Augustine had a playdate with one of his buddies after school, while the girls and I met up with my sisters and cousin for a lunch date.

twenty-fourth
Having my family here is obviously the best thing about Fort Collins. This morning, we played at Sarah's house. I love how the kids get to grow up with their cousins. :) I took Estella back to the doctor--now she has a stomach bug. Will the sickness every end?! Come on, spring!!

Mrs Potato Head :)

twenty-fifth
Today, the kids had their last day of preschool for the year, as we aren't going to enroll them anywhere in the Springs. After school, we went home, I turned on a show for them, and I repeated last Wednesday...I feel like such a complainer, but it was so hard. Like I said a while back, this was a hard month for me! As soon as the house was in show-condition, I got the kids in the car and drove back to the Springs.

twenty-sixth

My sister, Sarah, saved the day and showed our house for us this morning. Luke's mom, brother Anthony [and girlfriend, Maria], and sister, Tessa [and boyfriend, Dan] arrived from the east coast for a visit today. Though exhausted, we enjoyed an evening together. I refused to let anyone cook or clean, so we ordered pizza and drank wine.

twenty-seventh
Augustine started off the morning with a bang by throwing up in bed. Lucky for me, Luke was cuddling with him when it happened and assumed all responsibility for the mess. :) Anthony and Maria headed up to the ski mountain early, but Nana, Dan, and Tessa didn't leave until the afternoon.

twenty-eighth
Luke had a pre-season game today. Not to sound like a downer, but him being gone for hours at a time on a Saturday afternoon just isn't my favorite right now.

Dad being gone is a good excuse to cuddle up and watch a show in Mom and Dad's bed, though.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Happy New Year! Luke & I started the morning off with a 5 mile "fun run"--I didn't go the whole 5 miles because we needed to be somewhere afterwards, but it was still good to get out and run. [Luke won it--surprise, surprise.] We had a great time that evening when Sarah hosted a game night for all the sisters and our spouses. We played "Spousology," which is super fun (& funny!).

Sarah & Chris took the win!

second

My sisters, Ellen and Caitlin, and their husbands, as well as a couple of other friends came over for a little Christmas gathering.

third

After being in town since December 17th, Ellen headed back to Wyoming. She was in town for spinal surgery and spent the first half of her stay with Sarah and the second half with our family.

fourth

How can it be?! My sweet Stella turned 9 months old today! She is crawling all over the place, crusing, loves to eat, has 6 teeth...and says, "mama"!

Photo not taken until January 19th...she must be the third child.

fifthGemma had gymnastics this morning. Too cute! She got a balance beam and a little trampoline for Christmas, so she has been practicing at home, too.

sixth

An old friend of mine passed away last May. Today I was able to meet up with his mom for a little bit and give her some old pictures that I had.

seventh

Today, we watched one of my friend's daughters because her nanny is on maternity leave. I just love watching Gemma play with her friends. She is such a social and imaginative little person. She easily makes friends everywhere we go!

eighth

Augustine had a fun time at his friend's birthday party at the trampoline park this evening. While he was at the party, Luke and I [& Estella] took Gemma on a little date to Chick-fil-a for dinner and some play time.

ninth

We have been house hunting in Colorado Springs, and an offer we put on a house has been accepted! It is so crazy that we are buying another house, but I trust that being in Colorado year round and Luke continuing his soccer career is God's plan for us right now. Moving to CO Springs part time is another exciting part of our journey!

tenth

Our soon-to-be house has two bedrooms upstairs, the master bedroom on the main level, and a fourth bedroom in the basement. We could give all the kids their own rooms, but in an effort to keep them all sleeping upstairs, we are thinking of having Augustine and Gemma share a room. We are going to be using my old bunk bed from when I was a little girl for their room. I think they will like it...but if they stop sleeping well, Augustine is moving to the basement! Thoughts on siblings sharing a room are welcome (I don't think I had my own room until I was 16, so...).

eleventhAugustine is starting kindergarten in the fall, and we have not yet decided what that will look like. Ideally, I will home school him [it has always been a strong consideration for us, and it makes a lot of sense given that Luke has to be in CO Springs from February-September], but I want to make sure I am able to give him the one-on-one time that he deserves before I totally commit. If we go the public school route, we are really pulling for him to get into the Fort Collins Montessori School. I just think the mentality of the teachers there is attractive, and he would be surrounded by kiddos whose parents value the Montessori approach. Homeschooling curriculum recommendations for kindergarten?? twelfthToday we had a play date at a friend's house. I actually met this mom years ago through FOCUS, but we have become great friends in recent years through my Mom's Group at church. It is a blessing to have fellowship and friendship with other Mom's who share my faith.thirteenthTomorrow evening I am going to a clothing swap at my sister's house. If you have never participated in one, you should definitely consider it! Basically, everyone brings clothing items/shoes/jewelry/purses that they no longer want and you go shopping for "new-to-you" items. It is a great way to recycle clothing, and I always walk away with a few items that I love!!fourteenthGemma goes to "school" every Wednesday from 9-11am. This morning, she got to bring a snack to class to celebrate her birthday--she chose pineapple and spicy [aka pepper jack] cheese! I brought pineapple for everyone and mozzarella cheese sticks for her friends...but she got a couple slices of pepper jack instead :)

I have no idea what we did today?? However, I am guessing moving was on my mind. In less than a month, we are closing on our house in CO Springs, so I spend a lot of time thinking about what we are going to pack, what furniture we will need, etc. seventeenthHappy 3rd birthday, Gemma!! Today, Augustine and Gemma had a joint birthday party at a gymnastics studio. It was a great time with some of the kiddos' favorite friends and cousins. The princess/superhero theme made for some cute pictures. After the party, we headed to Sarah and Chris' house for dinner. Dylan and Gemma share a birthday, so the party continued with more cake and more presents!

eighteenthTwelve years ago today, Lacy, one of my best friends in the world died. The year after her death was probably the hardest of my life. Today her mom had me and a couple other close friends over for a tea party. Hosting tea parties is something Lacy used to do. nineteenthMonday mornings are full for us. We drop Augustine off at school at 8:45am and head straight to Gemma's gymnastics class that starts at 9am. Luckily for us, it always starts late :) After gymnastics we try to get Estella down for a nap at home before we pick up Augustine at 11:45am.
twentiethThis morning we watched one of my girlfriends kids for a couple hours while she was at work. I find times when I watch other kids or have play dates to be some of the most relaxing times for me. The kids just play so well together that I find myself lounging on the couch, sipping still-warm coffee and wondering what to do with myself. twenty-firstToday I went to an Young Living essential oils class on "Winter Wellness." I just started using essential oils a couple months ago, and I am really liking them. Luke uses Panaway for his plantar fasciitis more effectively than any other treatment he has tried. We use Thieves and Purification to disinfect the air in our home during this awful flu season. Augustine loves to diffuse Lemon at bedtime. I add Lavender to the water when the kids take baths. And so much more... If you want to learn more about essential oils, let me know!twenty-secondLittle miss Estella started giving kisses yesterday, and it is sosososo sweet. Before babies can talk or express themselves, you have to wonder if they feel all the love you have for them. But when they start giving kisses, it's a little way for them to reciprocate your love and confirm that they feel your love for them--yay!twenty-thirdLuke and I went on a date to my church Mom's Group New Year party tonight. It's nice to remember what it feels like to get ready for a date with my Love. We had a good time visiting with friends and drinking delicious wine. twenty-fourthcontinued from yesterday...Augustine and Estella were already asleep when we left for the party, but we asked the sitter to put Gemma to bed. When we got home, the sitter said she was very good and went right to sleep...but we walked upstairs to find that her light was on and that she was sleeping in the bed in her room [the sitter had put her to bed in her crib where she usually sleeps]. I have a feeling that she did not, in fact, go right to sleep! She is such a character!

twenty-fifthLuke left for Richmond today, and he won't be back until the 30th! I am not really looking forward to his time away from us :( On the bright side, I took the kids to Beckett's first birthday party this afternoon and everyone had a blast. It was an indoor pool party with cookies for dessert--so fun!twenty-sixthIt is January 26th, and it was 70 degress out today! It is amazing what a little bit of warm weather can do for the soul. We spent as much time as possible outside today. It was great to be at the park again!

twenty-seventhThe weather was absolutely be-u-tiful again = another walk to the park! Unfortunately, Estella fell off our bed for the first [and second!] times this evening. She is our first baby to fall off a bed period, so to have her to it twice five minutes apart was a bit traumatizing.

twenty-eighthMy favorite part of today was resting with my sweet Gunner while Gemma and Estella napped. The days with Luke out of town are long, and my temper is shorter than usual...but a few quiet moments cuddling with my babies puts everything back into perspective and reminds me of how blessed I am. Another fun part of the day was surprising Augustine with smoothies from his favorite smoothie shop when we picked him up from preschool today. I did it for him on his first day of preschool, and he still asks often at pick-up, "did you bring me a smoothie?" It's always fun when the answer is, "Yes!" :) We also ordered pizza for dinner because it's not as fun to cook when Luke isn't here to enjoy it. And, did I mention our van battery died today? Come home, Luke! twenty-ninthThe kids and I had a rockin' dance party today. What can I say--we are stir crazy, we miss Luke, and sometimes you just gotta turn up the music and dance. A nice moment in our day was when my younger sister offered to cook us dinner--normally, we would just join them at their house, but with all the sickness going around their house, she said I could just swing by and pick it up to take and eat at home. It was a nice break for me--thanks, Cait!

thirtiethLuke got home from Richmond late tonight--yay! My dad picked him up from the airport for me, which was super helpful. It is so good to have him home :)

thirty-firstOur poor baby, Stella, was sick today. She has been running a fever since yesterday afternoon. She isn't really crabby when she is sick--she just wants to be held and cuddled all.day.long, which I don't find myself complaining too much about.

Saturday, August 9, 2014

You always hear about how by the third child there are no pictures in the albums, no writing in the baby book, no souvenir from that first hair cut, etc. Well, I am doing my best for that not to happen to sweet Estella, and I am only kind of failing.

One thing I did drop the ball on was getting Estella's pictures professionally taken as a newborn...and, I was a month late with her 3 month pictures! But, better late than never, so earlier this week we had a photographer friend take some pictures of us at a beautiful park in Richmond. {And just for the record, I do plan on still doing Estella's 6,9, and 12 month pictures...hopefully on time!}

These are my favorites! Sorry for the big photo dump---I just want all my favorites saved here forever: